Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson started out making low-budget splatter movies in his native New Zealand and moved on to explore new cinematic worlds in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. But no matter how far he’s gone, he’s always made it seem real.

Director Anthony Hemingway started his career as one of the youngest ADs in Guild history, eventually helming numerous episodic shows and serving as director-producer on Treme. But it’s his attention to the human element that has defined his style.

At least not for Noam Murro, who has won two DGA Awards for groundbreaking commercials and conquered tricky special effects in his upcoming feature, 300: Rise of an Empire. But the one thing he hopes all his work has in common is heart.

After training as an artist, Steve McQueen has turned his camera on the struggles of life with the darkly beautiful Hunger and Shame. He continues the descent with his first American film, 12 Years a Slave.

With the built-in drama of competition, it’s no wonder directors have long been attracted to the world of sports. In a collection of shots, here are some of the triumphs—real and fictional—they’ve captured on film.

Cecil B. DeMille used epic staging and what was then state-of-the art special effects to show Moses parting the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments (1956), with an assist from storyboard artist Harold Michelson.